Unless there is some incentive to NOT do damage, contractors/developers/builders have a tendency to just run their massive machines everywhere and damage plant life in the area. In fact, the normal way of doing things seems to be to bulldoze EVERYthing and start with a blank slate and plant dinky little trees that take 20 years to actually benefit the area with size and shade.

In this Built Green Certified Community in West Seattle preservation of old trees is REQUIRED. During phase on construction supposedly the protective fences had price tags hanging from them in the $100,000 range for each tree. If a builder damaged the tree or it died then they would have to pay that amount in restitution and penalty. To my knowledge nothing was actually damaged during phase one construction, although there was some tree removal two to three years later, which was unfortunate.

Preservation of large trees should be arranged in any new development – it adds a lot of aesthetic appeal and actually improves home values.